Swimming device



April 29 1924.

W. D. HART SWIMMING DEVICE Filed Nov. 4, 1921 INVENTOR fiwm I0- 97 ATT NEY Patented Apr. 29, 1924.

@NETED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

WILLIAMS 1). HART, O'F BLOOMFIELD, NEW JERSEY, ASSIGNOR OF ONE-BALE To JAMES H. WHITAKER, OF BLOOMFIELD, NEW JERSEY.

SWIMMING DEVICE.

Application filed November 4, 1921. Serial No. 512,733.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, WILLIAM D. HART, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of Bloomfield, county of Essex, and 5 State of New Jersey, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Swimming Devices, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to that class of device used in swimming and in instruction for swimming, and is therefore also adapted for use as a life preserver and is constructed so that it can be installed on the back of a person so as to provide a minimum of resistance to the progress of the swimmer.

The invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawing, in which Figure 1 is a view showing a swimmer equipped with my improved swimming device. Figure 2 is a side View of the device, shown in section at the ends. Figure 3 is a cross-section of Figure 2. Figure 4 is a perspective view of one end of the cover and the bag therein, the bag being partly withdrawn. Figure 5 is a perspective view of the bag folded. Figure 6 is a view showing a possible adjustment of the device relative to the body.

The main or buoyant portion of the deviceis a float 10 made up of a bag and a rubber and having a suitable valve 12 by means of which it is inflated. The shape of the bag is elongated, that is, it is long and narrow and is undercut or inclined at the ends 13 so that it is shorter at the bottom than at the top, the short bottom being usually long enough to reach from the back of the wearers neck to the waist or slightly below.

The bag is enclosed in a cover 14 which is made of approximately the same size as the bag when it is inflated, this cover being usually made of tough flexible material, such as canvas or the like, and the bag is removably placed therein, since the cover is provided with means for opening it, usually in the form of a flap 15 at one end, whereby the bag is protected more against puncture from contact with outside elements or from being punctured through friction, and is also strengthened when it is inflated.

The bag is provided with means for attaching it longitudinally along the back of a person, and I prefer to attach the cover, the bag 1.1 being usually made of .bacr

cover by means of loops 16 to go over the shoulders and a Waist strap or belt 17.

These straps are preferably fastened to the cover near the bottom thereof, and I also prefer to place bands 18 around the cover to act as fastening means for the straps and at the same time strengthen the cover to confine the bag therein when inflated.

The shoulder straps 16 are connected by a strap 19 which is-adjustable and which passes across the chest of the swimmer, and the waist belt 17 is also adjustable so that, as shown in Figure 6, it can be loosened if it is desired by the person wearing it to assume a moreupright position in the water.

When the bag is in place, as shown in Figures 1 and 6, it does not offer any material resistance to the passage of the swimmer through the water, since it is entirely in rear of the body, and furthermore, it conforms readily to any, movement of the body'to flex the bag longitudinally, and in addition, the cut-away portions or ends 13, which provide a shorter bottom, permit a free movement of the head and also of the muscles at the lower part of the back which are employed in the movement of the legs.

I claim:

1. A swimming device comprising a flexible elongated inflatable bag shorter at the bottom than at the top, a cover in which the bag fits wheninflated, bands encircling the and straps secured to the bands for securing the device longitudinally on the back of a person.

2. A swimming device comprising a fiexible elongated bag with an undercut end. and means disposed so as to secure the bag to a persons back with the said end behind the wearers head.

3. A swimming device comprising a flexible elongated bag with an inclined end so that when held horizontal the bottom is shorter than the top, and means for securing the bottom ofthe bag to a person with thedinclined end in rear of the wearers hea In testimony that I claim the foregoing,

W. D. HART. 

